Mothers at Work: Effects on Children's Well-Being

by Lois Hoffman , Lisa Youngblade

• ISBN13: 9780521668965
• ISBN10: 0521668964
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This important volume examines the effects of the mother's employment on family life and children's well-being. It starts with a thorough review of previous research on this topic and then reports the results of a study designed to answer the key questions that emerge. The study focuses on 448 families, with an elementary school child, living in an industrialized city in the Midwest. They include both one-parent and two-parent families, African Americans and Whites, and a broad range of economic circumstances. Extensive data have been obtained from mothers, fathers, children, teachers, classroom peers, and school records. The analysis reported reveals how the mother's employment status affects the father's role, the mother's sense of well-being, and childrearing patterns and how these, in turn, affect the child. The book provides an intimate picture of urban life and how families cope with mothers' employment.

Author Biography

Lois W. Hoffman is Professor Emerita of Psychology at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction and Review of the Literature	1	(28)
Methodology	29	(16)
Children's Daily Family Lives: The After-School Day Interview	45	(31)
The Husband--Wife Relationship	76	(27)
The Mother's Well-being	103	(19)
Childrearing	122	(30)
Maternal Employment and Child Outcomes: The Direct Relationships	152	(22)
The Father's Role, Gender Attitudes, and Academic Outcomes	174	(34)
The Mother's Well-being and Child Outcomes	208	(20)
Childrearing Patterns and Child Outcomes	228	(28)
Nonmaternal Care and Supervision: Prevalence and Effects of Child-care Arrangements on Child Well-being	256	(22)
Summary and Overview	278	(19)
Appendix: Measures Developed for This Study	297	(16)
References	313	(14)
Author Index	327	(4)
Subject Index	331